The Taylor Force Act: Information and Resources

The Taylor Force Act (H.R. 1164, S. 1697) conditions future U.S. economic aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) on the PA ending its longtime practice of paying financial rewards to terrorists who attack Americans and Israelis – as well as lifetime stipends for the terrorists’ families.

This practice of ‘pay for slay’ is codified in detail in Palestinian law. In 2017, the PA allocated $344 million – half of its annual foreign aid – for such payments.

The OU Advocacy Center has worked with legislators to build support for this legislation since Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) first introduced it in September 2016, just months after 28-year-old American graduate student and former U.S. Army Officer Taylor Force was stabbed to death by a Palestinian terrorist in Jaffa. Ten others were injured in the attack, which occurred while Force was on a class trip. On March 23, 2018, Congress passed – and President Trump signed the Taylor Force Act.

As the public policy arm of the nation’s largest representative Orthodox Jewish organization‚ representing nearly 1,000 congregations nationwide‚ OU Advocacy works to promote Jewish values and protect Jewish interests in the public square.